Look For a Rainbow Vest

Oct 3

It’s a familiar sight that we’ve gotten used to seeing in person or on the news by now. A

patient attempts to make their way into a clinic. Sometimes they have support;

sometimes they are alone. Before they can even reach the parking lot, they are met by

protestors. These self-proclaimed “sidewalk counselors” post up on the property line

prepared with their anti-choice tactics.

They will leap in front of cars to stop patients in

the clinic driveway, and wear fake security vests to trick patients into thinking that they are

clinic escorts, shove pamphlets filled with misinformation and “gift bags” of baby

supplies through their windows, chalk up the sidewalk with heinous messages, and

scream. More than anything, these people love to scream. It makes the act of obtaining

reproductive health care very scary for patients when it’s already difficult to access.

That’s the goal, and that’s where we come in. In the midst of this ugly scene, patients

have been told to look for a beacon of safety: a rainbow vest.

When patients show up for their appointments, Pro-Choice Minnesota escorts are waiting outside to support

them. We get them past those protestors. We get patients through the driveway before

protestors have the opportunity to shove any propaganda through their windows. We

flank patients’ sides and walk them into the clinic so that they have to see and hear as

little of those screams as possible. Rain, shine, or blizzard - we show up. The

protestors? Not going to stop us. We’re here for you, and we’re not going anywhere.

-Mary Stowell, Pro-Choice Minnesota Volunteer Clinic Escort

Run For Your Rights with Coach Hayley